Foxborough, Mass, USA
E.P. Carpenter

One of the most influential people in the development of Foxborough was Erastus P. Carpenter. He was a business man and community leader. He worked to begin the Foxborough Common, build Memorial Hall, helped build the Town House, and establish the English and Classical High School. He united many small staw manufacturing plants into one employing 6000 people. He introduced profit sharing with employees. He raised $10,000 for relief of Civil War soldiers and their families. He was founder of the Sylvanian Association, a private group formed to build the Town Common in the 1850s. He established the first printing plant in Foxborough in 1853 and in 1857 provided financial assistance to the ailing Home Library Newspaper. He was influential in the start of Rock Hill Cemetery and served as president of the Foxboro Loan and Building Association. He was a strong supporter of the Bethany Church. He was instrumental in bringing a shoe factory (later to become the Inman-Kimball Hat Factory) as well as the Van Choate Electric Company. He was chairman of the water commissioners. He headed a telegraph company linking Foxborough and Mansfield. He was the first president of the Mansfield and Framingham Railroad and served as State Director of the Boston and Albany Railroad as well.

He was State Senator in the years 1872-1874 and in 1891 served in Massachusetts House of Representatives where he introduced the State Highway Bill.

While visiting a Methodist Camp Meeting on Martha's Vineyard in 1865, he was distressed at the lack of accommodations for those wishing to spend a few days. Joining with five other businessmen, he purchased a tract of land and built Sea View House. He also developed Katama and built Matabesett Lodge and several cottages. On Nantucket Island, he built a straw shop, offering employment to hundreds of local women. In 1887 he planned and supervised the building of Sea Cliff Inn. He established a straw shop in Medfield.

On January 31, 1902, E.P. Carpenter died while crossing the Foxborough Common. A simple marker was placed in the ground at that spot near the flagpole toward Boyden Library.

Additional information is available at the Foxborough Historical Commission.